scholarly journals Hydrological characteristics of lakes in the eastern part of the Broknes Peninsula, Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Boronina ◽  
S. V. Popov ◽  
G. V. Pryakhina

Broknes Peninsula (the area of the Progress station, Larsemann Hills, Princess Elisabeth Land, East Antarctica) is characterized by the presence of well developed hydrographic network consisting of reservoirs located not only in the bedrock, but also inside the glacier thickness and on its surface. As a rule, most of them are dammed by natural snowice weirs, which are often destroyed during the Antarctic summer. As a result of this process, glacial water outburst may occur. In the course of the summer season of the 63‑th Russian  Antarctic Expedition (RAE) intensive hydrological field observations were carried out for identification and comprehensive investigation of potentially outburstprone reservoirs located in close proximity to Russian and foreign stations and field bases (area of the  Progress station and the field base Law-Racovita). The works included: the organization of temporary pile and depth-stick water gauge stations, mapping positions of the shoreline of lakes (reservoirs), bathymetric surveys of them, as well as field hydro-chemical express analyses. Based on the results of the level measurement, it was found that most of the lakes of the oasis are characterized by a sharp drop in the height of the water surface level associated with the breakthroughs. In particular, the authors witnessed the breakthrough of the Discussion Lake, which occurred on January 22, 2018. This resulted in decrease of the water level by 0.95 m. Based on the data of the bathymetric surveys, the morphometric (hydrometric) characteristics of the lakes were calculated and detailed grids (regular net of rectangular matrices, in the nodes of which some effective values of the mapped values are located) were formed for the following numerical modeling of hypothetical and real breakthroughs of water bodies and construction of estimated hydrographs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-165
Author(s):  
I. A. Melnikov

During the seasonal work of the Russian Antarctic expedition (RAE-65), the monitoring of the water-ice ecological system was conducted in the Nella fjord (Prude Bay, East Antarctica). This monitoring is conducted annually since the IPY in 2007 in frames of the project “Assessment of the ecology of the Antarctic sea ice zone” (“Krial”) (Melnikov, 2020). The purpose of the monitoring is the assessment of the role of water-ice biota in global biosphere processes in the Southern Ocean.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-309
Author(s):  
M. R. Kuznetsova ◽  
G. V. Priakhina ◽  
S. D. Grigoreva ◽  
E. R. Kiniabaeva

The study aims to identify formation factors of water inflow to the Antarctic lakes of the Larsemann Hills oasis (East Antarctica). The objects of study are 11 lakes of the oasis. The analysis was performed based on the expeditionary data of the Russian Antarctic Expedition (RAE): 63rd season (23 December 2017 – 3 February 2018), 64th season (12 January 2019 – 27 February 2019), 65th season (2 November 2019 – 24 March 2020). Data of lakes water level observations, aerial photography of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and route surveys are given, the results of identifying the boundaries of the lakes catchments are presented. The factors that determine the formation of water inflow to the lakes in this region were identified based on the analysis of the materials. The most significant are the meteorological conditions, the presence of perennial snowfields and glacial areas in the catchments, and the presence of lakes that can cause outburst flood. The seasonally thawed layer also has an impact on the formation of the inflow to the lakes. The vegetation cover is not so important for inflow formation in this region due to the physical and geographical conditions. As for anthropogenic activity, it mainly affects the environmental situation of the catchments and water quality, while the anthropogenic influence on the formation of water inflow to the lakes in the oasis is limited to the territories of polar stations. The factors identified should be taken into account in the further study of hydrological processes, the creation of models that describe them, and the organization of field observations.


Polar Record ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erki Tammiksaar ◽  
Tarmo Kiik

ABSTRACTIn 1819, the Russian government launched two expeditions: the first squadron of two ships departed to explore the southern polar areas, and the second set out for the northern polar areas. The expedition to the southern polar areas took place under the command of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. Up to the present day, very little information is available, from the Russian literature, about the initiator and main goals of the expedition. At the same time, the travels and main results of the expedition have been widely popularised, but not necessarily accurately, in Russian as well as in English. On the basis of recently discovered documents, this article attempts to establish who the initiator of these Russian expeditions was, how the expeditions were prepared, and whether the main tasks of the expeditions were realised. The conclusion is that Jean-Baptiste Prevost de Sansac, Marquis de Traversay was the initiator of the Russian Antarctic expedition, not the Russian navigators Adam Johan von Krusenstern, Otto von Kotzebue, Gavrila A. Sarychev or Vasilii M. Golovnin as stated in Soviet publications. The real aim of the expedition was to discover the Antarctic continent which would have added glory to de Traversay as well as to Emperor Alexander I and, in a wider sense, also to the Russian empire. All dates are given according to the old style calendar. The difference with the new style calendar is 12 days.


2020 ◽  
Vol 957 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-64
Author(s):  
A.I. Elchaninov

The article is devoted to the discovery of the Antarctic by Russian navigators, the study, mapping and designation of its shores and adjacent islands. Russian names were given to many new found geographic features. The list of some Russian geographical names is shown on the map of Antarctica. The maps of the Bellingshausen–Lazarev sailing expedition in 1819–1821 are given; the Russian geographical names are highlighted on them. The article is also devoted to the first Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819–1821, the discovery of the Antarctic by Russian navigators F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev on the sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny", the study, mapping and marking of its shores and adjacent Islands. The expedition discovered 29 Islands. The discoverers assigned Russian names to many of new found geographic objects of Antarctica. These names are highlighted in the article. The following maps are presented


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Boronina ◽  
Sergey Popov ◽  
Galina Pryakhina

Abstract. The Antarctic oasis Larsemann Hills is characterized by a developed drainage system. It includes several lakes of different genesis. However, besides the state of knowledge of this region and regular expeditions, which are conducted nowadays, the lakes of this oasis have not been studied comprehensively yet. In general, international and Russian research is dedicated to the monitoring of the ecological state of the water bodies, inferring climate change signals from the lake deposits. At the same time, works related to determination of the bathymetry and morphology of water bodies do not virtually exist or are hidden in scientific-technical reports of the Antarctic Programs of different countries. Interest in the investigation of the oasis lakes has increased sharply after the formation of a vast depression on on Dålk Glacier (Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica) on 30 January 2017 caused by the outburst of intraglacial reservoir. Field research in 2017/18 revealed that sudden destructions of impound dams and the generation of breakthrough floods are indicative for many lakes of the oasis. Thus, the present work aims at the application of mathematical modeling methods to shed light on the processes that lead to dam destruction and the outburst of lakes temporarily impounded by natural firn-ice and glacial dams. Such discharges are comparable to jökulhlaups and can be calculated using the adapted model of Yu.B. Vinogradov. As main objects of this research we select among the lakes located close to Russian and foreign Antarctic stations and field bases those, for which destructions of ice-snow bridges are detected. According to the modelling results, the following characteristics were identified for every outburst: the distribution of the discharges over time, the volume and transmission time of the flood. Moreover, its catastrophic risk and fracture force was assessed. The data obtained will form a basis for studying the formation of temporary ice hydrographic networks in Antarctica and the analogous processes occurring under the Arctic glaciers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongxing Li ◽  
Hongwei Li ◽  
Tong Hao ◽  
Gang Qiao ◽  
Haotian Cui ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper presents the results of the assessment of ICESat-2 ice surface elevations along the CHINARE (CHINese Antarctic Research Expedition) route in East Antarctica. The validation campaign was designed and implemented in cooperation with the 36th CHINARE Antarctic expedition from December 2019 to February 2020. The assessment of the ICESat-2 ATL03 and ATL06 data was performed based on coordinated multi-sensor observations using two roof-mounted kinematic GNSS receivers, two line arrays of corner cube retroreflectors (CCRs), two sets of retroreflective target sheets (RTSs), and two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with cameras. This systematic validation of the ICESat-2 data covered a variety of Antarctic ice surface conditions along the 520 km traverse from the coastal Zhongshan Station to the inland Taishan Station. This comprehensive investigation is complementary to the 750 km traverse validation of flat inland Antarctica containing a 300 km latitude traverse of 88° S by the mission team in a previous study. Overall, the validation results show that the elevation of the ATL06 ice surface points is accurate to 1.1 cm with a precision of 9.7 cm along the 520 km CHINARE route. The elevation of the ATL03 photons has an offset of 2.4 cm from a GNSS-surveyed CCR, and is accurate to 2.5 cm with a precision of 2.7 cm as estimated by using RTSs. The validation results demonstrate that the estimated ICESat-2 elevations are accurate to 1.1–2.5 cm in this East Antarctic region, which is important for overcoming the uncertainties in the estimation of mass balance in East Antarctica. The developed validation methodology and sensor system can be improved for continuous assessment of ICESat-2 data, especially during the later operation period.


Polar Record ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-260
Author(s):  
F.I. Norman

A once-restricted report dealing with the first (and only) official East German Antarctic expedition to Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, is discussed. Members of ‘die Ergebnisse der DDR-Erkundungsexpedition’ (EREX 79/80) were in the Larsemann Hills during the 1979–80 season. From ground (17 January) and aerial examination (17 January, 8 February), a site on eastern Broknes was selected for a future station; proposed facilities and some EREX observations are presented. Implications and consequences of the visit are discussed in relation to subsequent station development in the Larsemann Hills.


Oceanology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. N. Antipov ◽  
A. A. Artamonov ◽  
K. V. Artamonova ◽  
L. A. Dukhova ◽  
V. V. Maslennikov

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-224
Author(s):  
I.A. Melnikov

During the seasonal work of the Russian Antarctic expedition (RAE-64) in the Nella fjord at the continental station “Progress” (Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica), the monitoring of the water-ice ecological system has been carried out here annually since the International polar year (2007). The purpose of monitoring is to show the role of sea ice biota in the global biosphere processes of the Southern ocean.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 12-26
Author(s):  
V. M. Andreyeva ◽  
L. E. Kurbatova

The first summary of soil and nonmotile aerophilic green microalgae (Chlorophyta) from 7 regions of investigation of Russian Antarctic expedition is presented. 48 species of 33 genera were found. The areas of Bellingshausen Station (25 species) and Novolazarevskaya Station (21 species) are richest in the number and diversity of taxa. The smallest species number was observed in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic nunataks — areas of Leningradskaya Station (2 species) and Russkaya Station (4 species). Only Pseudococcomyxa simplex occurs in all the areas. Three species (Coccomyxa curvata, Muriellopsis sphaerica and Schizochlamydella minutissima) are known to 5 areas.


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